Saturday, August 16, 2014

Lasting Legacies: How to Create a Will Your Loved Ones Won't Fight Over

Even
the most harmonious family relationships can be tested when a will is
read out and the legacy is not as expected amongst some of the
beneficiaries.

It
was your life and your money so the goal must surely be to get your
loved ones to accept and respect your last wishes. You would not be
alone in worrying about how to convey your final requests in a way
that doesn’t upset anyone.

Here
are some tips and advice on how to create a will that has the ability
to leave a loving legacy.

No
time like the present

Procrastination
can be very costly when it comes to sorting out your will. It is
absolutely essential to understand that there is a definite need
to plan a will
and have your final wishes set out in a legal document before you
die.

Not
making a will
at all can potentially mean that your last wishes and instructions
are not carried out after you are gone and it is also highly
advisable to ensure that you have created a will whilst you are of
sound mind.

Contesting
a will

One
of the most common reasons for someone contesting a will is if they
believe that the contents were not written while the deceased was
actually in a fit state of mind to understand or know what they were
saying.

Distressing
as it is to consider, but some of us do sadly lose our faculties in
later life. This is why your will should be written at a point where
there can be no argument that you did not know what you were
instructing to happen and who you wanted to benefit from your legacy
after you have gone.

Create
a powerful deterrent

There
is a possibility that you can include a no contest clause in your
will.

This
clause is also referred to as an in
terrorem clause
and it allows you to stipulate that if anyone challenges your will in
court, that person could be excluded from being a beneficiary from
your estate.

The
threat of being cut out of the will if you try to raise objections in
court is a powerful deterrent and could be a way of ensuring that
there are no protracted arguments over your legacy.

Keep
loved ones informed

You
might want to create a few surprises for your family on your deathbed
and it is certainly not unheard of for families to be shocked at how
little or how much money their relative actually had.

The
sensible course of action if possible, would be to keep loved ones
who are getting something from your will, informed about what you are
leaving to them. This can help to clarify the contents of the will
when it is read out and if your loved ones know specific details of
your assets beforehand, they can get matters resolved more quickly.

Always
under review

Our
circumstances will probably change throughout our life and this often
means that our final wishes might need to be altered to reflect these
changes.

If
you wrote your will some time ago, you may now have grandchildren
that you would like to leave something to and you might even have
changed your partner or got divorced.

Sound
advice would be to review your will every now and arrange for any
changes to be noted by having the document updated and witnessed.

If
you follow some of these tips and make sure that you have a current
will that is up to date and accurate. It should help to avoid any
arguments when your loved ones are informed of your final wishes.

-Jordan

Jordan
Elkington volunteers at her town senior center twice a week.

She also
likes to write, and enjoys helping seniors and their families live
better lives.

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Thanks Jordan! I think this is something we all need to do, but don't always think about. Thank you for sharing it with us today:)